BT customers warned over fake bill

Published:06:00Monday 03 July 2017

Consumers are being warned of a fake invoice from BT which aims to install banking malware on their computer.

Action Fraud - the UK’s national reporting centre for fraud and cybercrime - has received reports of the scam, which aims to gather personal details and ultimately steal cash from customers’ bank accounts.

The emails entitled ‘New BT bill’ contain a link that automatically downloads a malicious file called ‘BT bill.zip’ once clicked.

What makes this scam email unusual and more dangerous is the Dridex malware starts downloading without a webpage being opened.

Once installed, the Dridex malware is designed to steal personal information such as usernames and passwords by eavesdropping, with the goal of getting into bank accounts and stealing cash.

BT have warned customers who receive one of these emails to not click on any links. Instead, they should go to the BT website directly and log in from there to view bills - pointing out that BT would never send out an email with an attachment.

They add: “Remember that fraudsters can “spoof” an email address to make it look like one used by someone you trust. If you are unsure, check the email header to identify the true source of any such attachment or link.”